Azure Revamped with IaaS Features

Previews of major new additions to the Windows Azure platform were released in June 2012. They will complement Azure’s Platform as a Service (PaaS) capabilities, in which customers run applications on a Microsoft-managed software platform, with Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) capabilities, in which customers run and manage applications on Microsoft-supplied hardware. Azure now offers customers virtual machines (VMs) running Windows Server or Linux OSs, virtual private networks (VPNs) that connect Azure to on-premises servers, quicker deployment of Web sites, and improved management and development tools. The enhancements should ease customer transition to Azure and strengthen Azure’s case against competitors such as Amazon.

IaaS Features Ease Transition to Cloud

When Azure became commercially available in Feb. 2010, it offered a PaaS architecture, in which Microsoft rents out computer resources to run customer applications and takes responsibility for managing not only the hardware but also the OS and platform software running on the computers. Azure’s PaaS offerings reduce the management burden on customers and enable new application efficiencies, but often require applications to be rewritten to be compatible with the Azure platform and to take full advantage of the platform’s capabilities.